Hyundai Merchant and Korea Line said they have submitted proposals
to acquire Hanjin’s trans-Pacific assets


SEOUL— Hanjin Shipping Co. has drawn two final bids, including one
from Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., for the assets of its Asia-U.S.
route and its stake in a California terminal, as the beleaguered
company is broken up as part of a restructuring plan.
Hyundai Merchant, South Korea’s largest shipping line, and Korea
Line Corp., a smaller operator of dry bulkers and liquefied-natural-
gas carriers, said Thursday they have submitted proposals to acquire
Hanjin’s trans-Pacific assets.

In their proposals, both companies also expressed their intention to
purchase Hanjin’s 54% stake in Total Terminals International LLC,
which runs Long Beach Terminal in California.

The bidders declined to provide further details, such as bidding
prices for Hanjin’s assets.

A judge at the Seoul Central District Court, which is handling
Hanjin’s insolvency proceedings, confirmed the two bids. He said the
court plans to choose a preferred buyer by Monday and sign a formal
contract by Nov. 21.

A total of five shipping companies and equity funds had presented
their initial bids last month to acquire Hanjin’s trans-Pacific
assets, including its container ships, business network and the
workforce involved in running the Asia-U.S. route.

The sale process may herald the beginning of the end of Hanjin,
which filed for receivership in late August, disrupting supply
chains around the world.

Hyundai Merchant, which is owned by state-owned Korea Development
Bank, is trying to expand its fleet to compete with bigger rivals
such as Denmark’s Maersk Line and Geneva-based Mediterranean
Shipping Co. on the route, one of Asia’s main links to Western
markets.

The South Korean government has said it would back Hyundai in buying
Hanjin’s assets, provided the purchase would help the shipping
company stay competitive.

Hanjin, once the world’s seventh-largest container operator by
capacity, is under court order to cut its workforce, sell its own
ships and return chartered ships to their owners.

A Hanjin spokeswoman said Thursday it plans to fire almost all of
its 700 seafarers by the end of the year. The Korean company, whose
debt totals around 6.03 trillion won ($5.3 billion), also plans to
reduce its land-based workforce of 700 by nearly 60%.

Hanjin said last month that it would close its 10 European offices,
including its regional headquarters in Germany, fanning speculation
that Korea’s once No. 1 shipper will be liquidated or forced to
become a much smaller regional operator after the sale of major
assets.